Mental health and its influencing factors in elderly people living alone versus with family in Taiyuan, China

Among 488 elderly individuals in Taiyuan, China, the empty-nest elderly exhibited lower mental health scores than their non-empty-nest counterparts, except in psychoticism.

• The empty-nest elderly were predominantly male, married, had higher education levels, and higher incomes.
• Mental health scores of the empty-nest elderly were generally better than those of the non-empty-nest elderly, aside from psychoticism.
• Some dimensions of mental health scores showed statistically significant differences when compared to national norms.
• Gender and income were identified as main risk factors affecting the mental health of empty-nest elderly.
• Chronic diseases were noted as the primary risk factor influencing the mental health of the non-empty-nest elderly.

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